STM publisher Elsevier has announced that The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) has renewed its publishing partnership with the company. The agreement calls for Elsevier to publish the society’s flagship journal, the Journal of Hepatology, for the next five years.

  Copyright licensing solutions provider Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) and literature management software specialists, QUOSA, Inc. have announced an integration that will enable their common customers to benefit from CCC's rights advisory and management tool, Rightsphere, directly within QUOSA's literature management platform. The integration enables QUOSA users to share content within their organisations and insert full-text articles and other content into archives in a copyright-compliant manner.

  Learning and information resources provider DA Information Services has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Languages Direct, the leading supplier of LOTE (Languages Other Than English) books and AV material to Libraries in Australasia. This acquisition will mean public, state and University libraries in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia can now consolidate English Language and LOTE purchasing easily.

  Publishing group Pearson has announced investments totalling $30 million in two Indian education companies – Educomp Solutions and TutorVista. Pearson and Educomp have established a 50:50 joint venture to offer vocational and skills training in India. Pearson has also acquired a 17.2 percent stake in TutorVista, making it the company’s largest shareholder.

  EMpact Sales (EMpact), the publisher representation group of EBSCO Information Services, has announced an agreement with Multi-Science Publishing Co Ltd. in which EMpact will serve as exclusive sales and marketing representative. According to the agreement, EMpact will promote scientific journals that concentrate on energy, acoustics and engineering disciplines for Multi-Science, in both print and electronic format, in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and China.

  Information resources and technologies provider ProQuest has acquired assets related to the microfilming of newspapers, collections (such as groups of books, manuscripts and historical documents) and dissertations from National Archive Publishing Company (NAPC). NAPC was formerly a key supplier of microfilm services to ProQuest. It was founded in 2005, when ProQuest sold its microfilm manufacturing operation to focus its efforts on digital information, which the company saw as a key growth area.

  E-research and educational publisher Gale, part of Cengage Learning, and JISC Collections have announced an agreement to make Part 2 of the Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) digitisation project freely available to all UK academic institutions currently subscribing to ECCO. With 45,000 new titles selected from the English Short Title Catalogue, ECCO Part 2 adds close to seven million pages to the size of the collection.

  e-resource access and management services provider Serials Solutions has announced enhanced functionality for the Serials Solutions 360 Core e-resource portal. This includes a tabbed content view for eBooks subscribers, Library Managed Holdings for eBooks, and Japanese-language title sorting options.

  Open access publisher BioMed Central has announced that its journal, Stem Cell Research & Therapy, is now accepting submissions. An international peer-reviewed journal, Stem Cell Research & Therapy will publish open access research articles with special emphasis on translational, laboratory, and clinical research into stem cells.

  Electronic research databases provider EBSCO Publishing has launched a new display and searching technology designed to improve user experience. The new system supports natural language searching for scientific formulas and provides users with the ability to store and show html markup allowing display of scientific formulas.

  Library solutions provider Ex Libris Group has announced the general release of version 7.1 of the Voyager integrated library system (ILS). The new features introduced in version 7.1 extend WebVoyáge capabilities and tighten the integration of Voyager with other Ex Libris solutions - the Primo discovery and delivery solution and the Rosetta digital preservation system - as well as with third-party systems and services.

  The UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the Higher Education Academy have officially launched the Open Educational Resources (OER) programme. The initiative, funded by HEFCE and run by the Academy and JISC, aims to make a wide range of learning resources created by academics freely available, easily discovered and routinely re-used by both educators and learners.

  Digital content products and technologies provider ebrary has announced the availability of Content Hosting Plus, a new product that combines pre-packaged, full-text e-books in academic subject areas with ebrary’s hosting services. Available in multiple languages, the product transforms PDF files into highly interactive databases with the technology for information discovery including InfoTools.

  An open access sourcebook, called the ‘Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook’ (OASIS), was launched at the recent ELPUB meeting. The new web resource seeks to provide information on the ‘concept, principles, advantages, approaches and means to achieving Open Access.’ The site highlights developments and initiatives from around the world, with links to diverse additional resources and case studies. Materials are presented according to specific focus areas, to reflect diverse interest in wider access to research. OASIS is targeted at researchers, librarians, publishers, administrators, the public and students.

  Electronic research databases provider EBSCO Publishing has added more than 500 clinical calculators to DynaMed, an evidence-based clinical decision support resource. Licensed from MedCalc 3000, these calculators include medical equations, decision support tools, prediction tools, statistics calculators, dose conversion tools and unit conversion tools.

  Academic publisher SAGE has announced that the new SAGE Reference Online Handbook Collection, a set of 80 of its highest rated handbooks, digitised and hosted on the SAGE Reference Online platform, is now available for libraries worldwide. The first demos of the Handbook Collection will be given to attendees of the American Libraries Association meeting in Chicago, July 11-13.

  Digital content products and technologies provider ebrary has announced that it has developed new COUNTER-compliant usage statistics that make it easier for customers to view and analyse how e-books and other electronic materials are being used. ebrary will showcase its new granular reports at the forthcoming ALA Annual Conference (booth #5124).

  Coutts Information Services, part of Ingram Content Group, Inc., has announced the launch of version 4 of OASIS, its library software. OASIS V4 offers a glimpse of forthcoming pioneering enhancements, some of which are already being introduced to Coutts customers. An integrated out-of-print search and order function is being tested for release this summer, as well as the second phase of the Web 2.0 focused Coutts Communities. This provides added functions allowing for communication and managed sharing of information such as lists or local activity and collection collaboration across authorised groups of colleagues or institutions.

  Building information modeling (BIM) solutions provider Reed Construction Data has announced new features and enhanced content on its product, SmartBuilding Index (SBI). SBI is a projected as a comprehensive directory of building product information, manufacturers, manufacturer reps, distributors, architects, engineers and contractors. New features and functionality are seen to deliver a more user-friendly experience through simplified site navigation and provide new marketing and lead generation opportunities for manufacturers and other service providers.

  STM publisher Elsevier has announced the launch of SciVal Spotlight, a customised web-based tool that offers institutions a multidisciplinary perspective of research performance to evaluate, establish and execute more informed research strategies. SciVal Spotlight uses a visualisation technique to produce customised maps that provide graphical views of an institution’s performance over time and across scientific fields, focusing on specific topical areas.

  Medical information provider Wolters Kluwer Health (WK Health) has introduced a new market research service, Wolters Kluwer Health inThought. The service is among the first of a new generation of research services that can deliver data, analysis and forecasting from a single source, an approach that is both cost effective and helps streamline the market research process.

  The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International has announced that it will begin publishing its Aerospace Engineering and Manufacturing (AEM) magazine in an all-digital, every-other-week format. The new electronic-only delivery system and schedule, slated to begin August 5, will allow for more articles that better reflect the current-day issues and topics facing the aerospace engineering industry.

  Publishing solutions provider The Charlesworth Group has announced a partnership with scientific publisher Nature Publishing Group (NPG) to incorporate eXtensible Metadata Platform (XMP) metadata within online PDFs for the science journal Nature. The move is expected to improve the archiving of new Nature content and allow easier, more accurate searching for research articles, providing a better service for users of the nature.com web site. XMP-embedded PDFs are available on nature.com from the December 18, 2008 issue of Nature onwards.

  STM publisher Elsevier has announced results of its SciVal Spotlight Alternative Energy Research Leadership study. Analysing the work of 3,000 research institutions from across the globe, the study identifies the top 25, using a new method for determining leadership. Based on the top 50 institutions globally, the study also analyses country output in the three main alternative energy sub-topics or topic groups including solar/photovoltaic, fuel cells and environmentally-related areas.

  Wiley-Blackwell, the STM and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., recently conducted a study examining the potential impact of the economic downturn on its society publishing partners. Sixty percent of professional and scholarly societies believe that the global economic downturn might be a stimulus to introducing efficiencies within their organisations, according to the survey. Fifty-seven percent think it might provide opportunities for launching new activities or services for their members. The study was presented at the recently held Wiley-Blackwell Executive Seminar at the Royal Society in London.

  The Review Board on Principles of Shared Data Creation and Stewardship, convened jointly by the OCLC Board of Trustees and Members Council to represent the membership and inform OCLC on matters concerning shared data, has issued its final report. The report recommends that the proposed Policy on Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records be withdrawn and a new policy drafted. After review of the recommendations, OCLC has formally withdrawn the proposed policy. A new group will soon be assembled to draft a new policy with more inputs and participation from OCLC members.

  Information research solutions provider Ovid has announced that 27 journals available electronically on its platform OvidSP have been selected as among the 100 most influential biology and medical journals of the past 100 years. The journals were selected by the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Biomedical and Life Sciences Division (DBIO), and honored at the association’s recent annual meeting in Washington, DC. Of the 27 journals, five are from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW). Both Ovid and LWW are part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The other journals are from publishers such as Elsevier, Oxford University Press, BMJ and Wiley-Blackwell.

  Academic and professional literature publisher Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. is making its new journals free online. Under the initiative, every two months, users will be able to access up to three new titles recently added to the Emerald portfolio. Subscribers to the new flagship online journal collection, Emerald Management Plus, will gain access to each new title as soon as it is available online.

  Scientific publisher Nature Publishing Group (NPG) has announced that its flagship publication Nature continues its position as the number one weekly science journal, with a new Impact Factor of 31.434. Thomson Reuters recently published the new Impact Factors in the 2008 Journal Citation Report (JCR), Science Edition. Up from 28.751 last year, the new Impact Factor places Nature ahead of Science (28.103) and Cell (31.253), according to the 2008 JCR.

  The latest edition of blogspeak is now online. Featured are Joseph Esposito (How Libraries Can Find Money in Clouds); Frederic Lardinois (Libraries, eBooks, and the Mobile Web: A Long Ways to Go); Kent Anderson (The Freedom of Not Owning Books ); and Richard Poynder (Open Access and the A-Bomb). A service of Knowledgespeak.com, Blogspeak includes blog posts relevant to the publishing industry, particularly STM publishing. Subscribers are invited to participate in the latest edition of blogspeak Here

  Nielsen Book, part of global information and media group Nielsen Company, has announced that it is applying the BIC E4Libraries initiative to its core online service. BookData Online users can now search by E4Libraries Category Headings. The BIC E4Libraries initiative, of which E4Libraries Category Headings are a key part, aims to reduce costs, streamline workflows and automate the categorisation process in order to improve stock selection, management and display.

  E-research and educational publisher Gale, part of Cengage Learning, has announced the launch of PowerSearch 2.0, an enhanced version of the original PowerSearch platform which provides the library community comprehensive access to authoritative reference, periodical and primary source information. PowerSearch 2.0 simplifies browsing through Gale’s more than 20,000 publications, providing the ability to search across more than 150 million documents.

  The British Library, the national library of the UK, has announced the appointment of Frances Brindle as the British Library's new Director of Strategic and Marketing and Communications (SM&C). In her new role, Brindle will be responsible for developing campaigns that build the brand reputation and image of the organisation with its key audiences in increasingly complex and dynamic times.

  The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) has announced the appointment of Dr. Douglas W. Brown, as chair of the AOSSM Medical Publishing Board of Trustees. Dr. Brown will take over the position during AOSSM's Annual Meeting in Keystone, Colorado, July 9 -12, 2009. He will replace retiring chair Dr. David Sisk.

  Association of American University Presses (AAUP) has announced that John Hopkins University Press Director, Kathleen Keane, has assumed leadership of the Association, effective, Jun 20, 2009. Keane will serve a one-year term, and succeeds Alex Holzman, director of Temple University Press, who remains on the association’s Board of Directors.